Brad Richards isn’t the only name the New York Rangers are adding to their organization.
On Saturday morning it was announced the Nashville Predators had sent winger Andreas Thuresson to the Rangers in exchange for fellow winger Brodie Dupont. Both men have spent the majority of the season (and their careers) in the American Hockey League.
We’ll let the press release do most of the talking here but Thuresson was a winger in the Preds organization who rarely saw time with the big club. Matter of fact, the Kristianstad, Sweden native has just 25 NHL games under his belt, most of which coming in 2009-10. Furthermore, Thuresson was rumored to be heading to Europe. And that was before he was one of the players involved in the Qualifying Offer fiasco the Preds are currently embroiled in.
In short, this is nothing to get excited about as it was basically an exchange of minor leaguers.
Below is the full press release from the Predators.
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PREDATORS ACQUIRE DUPONT FROM THE NEW YORK RANGERS FOR THURESSON
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (July 2, 2011) – Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced today that the club has acquired restricted free agent forward Brodie Dupont from the New York Rangers in exchange for restricted free agent forward Andreas Thuresson.
Dupont, 24 (2/17/87), ranked third on the Connecticut Whale in points (14g-31a-45pts) and assists in 2010-11. He also amassed 78 penalty minutes and ranked second on the club in power-play goals (9) during his fourth professional season. The Russell, Man., native also made his NHL debut with the Rangers last season, appearing in a 3-2 victory over Atlanta on Jan. 22, 2011. In 297 American Hockey League games since 2007-08, Dupont has 148 points (58g-90a) and 389 penalty minutes.
A third-round selection (66th overall) of the New York Rangers in the 2005 Entry Draft, the 6-2, 210-pound left wing played 214 career games with the Western Hockey League’s Calgary Hitmen from 2003-07, registering 149 points (81g-68a) along with 324 penalty minutes.
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PHOTO CREDIT: Scott Paulus // Milwaukee Admirals (used with permission)